Politics, Poetry and Reviews

Author: Catherine (Page 7 of 54)

Federal Election 2019: Meet the Liberal Party

Summary

Website: https://www.liberal.org.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LiberalPartyAustralia/
Slogans:
Building our economy. Securing your future.
A fair go for people who have a go.
Themes: Right wing, with a current tendency towards hardline religious conservatism.  Tax cuts, especially for the wealthy.  Strong borders, pro-coal, skeptical about climate change.
Electorate:
Upper House: All of them.
Lower House: All the urban electorates.
Preferences: The Liberals are putting the United Australia Palmer second on all their Senate How to Vote cards (well, third in WA and TAS, but only because the Nationals are listed separately on those tickets).  The Australian Conservatives are third in SA, TAS and VIC, fourth in QLD, and sixth in NSW and WA.  The Liberal Democrats are in the top six in all six states (they aren’t running in the territories, and the DLP, Australian Christians and Christian Democrats are all in the top six in the states they are running in.  The Australian Democrats appear twice in the top six, and Katter’s Australia Party, Hinch’s Justice Party, the Centre Alliance , the Small Business Party, and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers each appear in the top six once.

Fascinatingly, in the Northern Territory, the Liberals have put HEMP ahead of both the ALP and the Greens.  This seems like a very strange choice, especially now that I’ve actually read HEMP’s websites.  In the ACT, where only seven groups are available above the line, the Liberals have put Sustainable Australia second, the Greens sixth, and have specifically instructed voters to leave Fraser Anning’s Conservative National Party blank.  This is a nice touch, but it would have been more consistent to do this everywhere, don’t you think?

The overall theme is definitely Clive Palmer with his money and mines first, followed by religious conservative parties and libertarian parties.  No real surprises here, basically.

Previous reviews

Continue reading

Federal Election 2019: Meet Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP)

Summary

Website: https://australianhempparty.com/
https://hemp.org.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AustralianHempParty
Slogans:
It’s not what it looks like!  We can explain.  (Currently winning the Cate Speaks award for the most inadvertently ludicrous slogan)
Themes: Legalising cannabis, which is apparently going to save our economy, improve our nutrition and revolutionise medicine.  Possibly the most disorganised political party website so far.
Electorate:
QLD, NSW, NT, SA, TAS, VIC
Preferences: HEMP is all about the freedom, man.  Their how to vote card advises you to look for the leaf, and then says:

Choose six boxes above the line.  Number in the order you like.

Previous reviews

Continue reading

Federal Election 2019: Meet Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party

Summary

Website: https://www.justiceparty.com.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justiceparty.com.au/
Slogans:
Unfinished Business
It’s Just Common Sense!
Themes: Common sense.  Being tough on crime.  Stricter bail and parole laws.  Stopping cruelty to animals.  Stopping violence against women.  A public register for child sex offenders.
Electorate:
Upper House: VIC
Lower House: Casey, Chisolm, Corangamite, Deakin, Dunkley, Indi, La Trobe, McEwan
Preferences: Hinch’s ticket goes Small Business Party, Australian Democrats, Australian Greens, Labor, Liberal and Animal Justice Party.  It’s a centre to left ticket, I’d say – he’s avoiding the extremists (and there are a lot of them to avoid), and making sure his votes go somewhere leftish, but nowhere too weird.
Previous reviews

Continue reading

Federal Election 2019: Meet Climate Action! Immigration Action! Accountable Politicians!

Summary

Website: https://www.onlinedirectdemocracy.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oddemocracy/
Previous names: Online Direct Democracy
Senator Online
Slogans:
Empowering the People
Themes: No policies.  This party will allow every Australian to vote on every Bill that comes before parliament, and their MP will then vote whatever the majority comes up with.
Electorate:
NSW, QLD, VIC
Preferences: These are not people with policies and therefore these are not people with preferences.
Previous reviews

Continue reading

Federal Election 2019: Meet the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party

Summary

Website: https://www.shootersfishersandfarmers.org.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SFFparty/
Previous Names: Shooters Party
Shooters and Fishers Party
Slogans:
It’s Your Powerful Voice
Themes: Loosening gun restrictions, recreational access to national parks, promotion of shooting, hunting, fishing and four wheel driving.  Conservative.  Right wing economic policies.  Recent headlines suggest a stronger emphasis on the ‘Farming’ part of their name.  Not happy with the Nationals.
Electorate:
Upper House: NSW, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA
Lower House: Burt, Calare, Cowan, Forrest, Gippsland, Hasluck, Mallee, Pearce
Preferences: OK, this is a bit ugly.  The SFF favour Australian Better Families in every state in which they are running.  Mmm, MRAs with guns, just what Australia needs. In Tasmania, this actually means that their how to vote cards aren’t valid, because the ABF candidate is an ungrouped independent, and you can’t vote both above and below the line, so that’s fun.  One Nation is in the top three in every state, and the Australian Conservatives are also in the top six on every card.  The Liberal Democrats appear three times, The Christian Democrats and the Australian Christians are in the top three in every state they are running in, Sustainable Australia appears twice, and there are guest appearances from the Small Business Party, the DLP, Katter, Rise Up Australia and the UAP.

Interestingly, the Liberals and Nationals appear in their top six only in WA, and the ALP is sixth on their ballot in SA. Either they are expecting a LOT of votes in the other states, or they are VERY confident about their preferences not exhausting.  I don’t think this confidence is well-founded.

Previous reviews

Continue reading

Federal Election 2019: Meet the United Australia Party

Summary

Website: https://www.unitedaustraliaparty.org.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnitedAusParty/
Previous names: Palmer United
Slogans:
Make Australia Great
Put Australia First
What Australia Grows, Grows Australia. Support Aussie Farmers
Themes: The lucky country.  Wealth creation, especially by mining, manufacturing and tax cuts.  Clive Palmer personality cult?  Feels a bit Trumpian, but without the absolute lack of compassion.  Doesn’t like Bill Shorten.
Electorate:
Upper House: All of them.
Lower House: All of them.
Preferences: As has been the subject of endless media conversation, United Australia is preferencing the Coalition in every seat.  Other favourite political parties are the Australian Conservatives, who they put in their top five wherever they are running, and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, likewise.  United Australia is not afraid to embrace the crazy, and thus preferences Katter’s Australian Party once and the Citizens Electoral Council Twice.  The Small Business Party and the Democrats appear twice each, and Rise Up Australia and the Lambie Network each appear once.  Amusingly, their how to vote card in the ACT is invalid – they preference five parties above the line, and also the Ungrouped Independents, which you aren’t allowed to do.

The main thing the parties preferenced have in common is a complete disregard for the environment, as befits a party founded by a mining magnate.  Though I can’t help feeling that the CEC, with their wild theories and love of grandiose infrastructure projects may actually be Clive Palmer’s natural home… that super fast mag-lev rail would fit right in with his dinosaur park and Titanic replica…

Previous reviews

Continue reading

Federal Election 2019: Meet the Socialist Equality Party

Summary

Website: http://www.sep.org.au/website/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SocialistEqualityPartyAustralia/
Slogans:
No to Militarism and War!
For Socialism and Internationalism!
Themes: Trotskyist communists, who consider themselves the only true socialist party on the ballot.  Pro-revolution, but anti-war.  Feminism is apparently divisive to the cause of the working classes.
Electorate:
Upper House: NSW, VIC
Lower House: Calwell, Hunter, Oxley, Parramatta
Preferences: Declaring your preferences is a bourgeois conspiracy.
Previous reviews

Continue reading

Federal Election 2019: Meet the Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group)

Summary

Website: https://www.cdp.org.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frednilecdp/
Slogans:
A voice for Family, A Voice for Values
Themes: Christian values of the fundamentalist variety.  Pro-life, anti LGTBQIA+.  Not terrible on the environment, and OK on disability stuff.  Weirdly into capitalism.
Electorate:
Upper House: ACT (UG), NSW, VIC
Lower House: Most NSW electorates
Preferences: I can’t find preferences for Victoria, but in NSW, the CDP favours the Coalition, the Shooters Fishers and Farmers, One Nation, Australian Conservatives, and Rise Up Australia.  So yeah, the far right and the conservative Christian parties, but on the bright side, they seem to have avoided the ones that are only there for the racism and have no other policies.  Yay?
Previous reviews

Continue reading

Federal Election 2019: Meet the Australian Country Party

Summary

Website: https://australiancountryparty.org.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/auscountryparty/
Previous names: The Australian Country Alliance
The Australian Country Party: Give it Back!
Slogans:
A Voice for All
People before Party, Policies before Politics
Themes: Centrist with slightly libertarian tendencies, big on independence, freedom, and self-reliance.  More infrastructure and resources for regional Australia.  Policies very unclear, as they want to consult everyone on Facebook, which seems like the sort of choice one regrets before long.  (Could be worse, could be Twitter.)
Electorate:
None.  This entire post was pointless, unless you like watching the evolution of small political parties.
Preferences: N/A
Previous reviews

Continue reading

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2025 Cate Speaks

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑